Figure 3.

Treatment of ototoxin-damaged utricles with GF I stimulated the maturation of stereociliary bundles. (A and B) Scanning electron micrographs of the peristriolar region of utricular maculae at 9 weeks post-gentamicin exposure. The vestibule in A remained untreated after gentamicin exposure, whereas the vestibule in B received 1 month of GF I infusion. A comparison of these micrographs shows that only the stereociliary bundles in B have progressed to a stair-stepped arrangement of their stereocilia. Quantification of HC stereociliary bundle maturation is presented in C. (n = 100 hair cells/condition; scale bars = 10 μm.)